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Friday, August 15, 2008

Man Make Fire

This is fire. Fire is good. Me make fire. No- that is not caveman talk, that is the best Spanish I can muster. Let's be honest, I am not even that good. But, tonight is the first time we have had a fire in this house, since we bought it, a little over 2 weeks ago. This is the stove installed. Notice the pipes rising from the top of the stove, we hope these will transmit the heated air (driven by the blower on the side of the stove) to the entire house. We will see about that. Still, it was the best and most economical option open to us.

By the way, many of the walls we have seen have broken glass set all along the top. I thought it was to keep birds off the wall. I was informed that it was to keep burglars off the wall. What a difference from the US, where a burglar injuring himself while breaking into your house or business may sue you for damages. In Uruguay, if you try to climb over one of those fences and cut yourself to shreds- that is just too bad for you.

Aldo (the carpenter from New York state) has been most helpful. We plan to have the ductwork installed and the house heated by early next week. Denise is staying at the hotel through Saturday, but will be here on Sunday for better or for worse.

Now back to the fire. As you may have noticed, it was not a roaring fire. Yes I made a fire, but not after much smoke and at that a very little fire. I've got a lot to learn. I may need more seasoned firewood, as well. However, making a fire every day will be good practice.

3 comments:

Congratulations on building your first fire. Just as an FYI, blowback smoke into the house is much more likely when the stove and flue are cold. The key is to keep the fire going. A warm flue draws smoke to the outside much better.

HI Wally,We are enjoying your posts, sounds like a lot of fun. We are coming to Uruguay next week. Any suggestions on a good place to stay a few nights around Atlantida? We wish you continued success, it's inspiring us!Debi

Syd and Gundy recommended Hotel Paradise, on the rambla in Atlantida. We stayed there for 2 months, while finding and buying a house. The rate was $660 US for a month, or $1000p per day. It was centrally located and the people were very, very nice.